I was surprised by two things. First, it took me FOREVER to hook up the trailer--way longer than I had budgeted. It also caused a consistent stream of four-letter words when I'd readjust and back up only to find the ball in the exact same position as before. This gooseneck thing is going to take a little more practice. Second, adjusting the boots took far less time than I had thought--I had all four boots adjusted within about 20 minutes once I figured out what I was doing. They looked very nice, and earned us some praises from other boarders who didn't quite understand what they were for. I turned Jasper out into the indoor arena where he did a few goose-steps with the new boots and then took off trotting. Once I was satisfied with the way he was moving, I quickly loaded my tack and set about waiting for Lacey. She arrived in short order and we loaded the horses and were off!
Hell's Gate State Park is about a 45 minute drive from Pullman, although it's down in a valley and usually about 10 degrees warmer. We arrived and I was happy to see a nice, flat area for trailer parking (and plenty of room for turning around) along with some public restrooms. Score! We tacked up and headed out happily chatting and laughing. The park reminds me of Boise terrain, and has a variety of trails. There's a nice, flat trail along the river and then dozens of trails up through the hills for more of a challenge. All the trails we were on had excellent footing and were interesting enough the horses didn't get bored. Jasper seemed to notice the boots more when we were walking although his trot was a little different initially as well. He didn't seem to understand he didn't have to be so careful across the rocky bits, and so still carefully picked his way through them. We made a nice out-and-back expedition and got a nice feel of the park.
When we were returning along the flat trail next to the river, we let the horses run and Jasper moved excellently in the boots. Lacey passed us while we were cantering and I prepared for a buck--there was none, although there was some contention with allowing her to pass. Jasper tossed his head but I kept him back until they had passed and then I loosened and let him take her on and pass her again. Victory! We walked them back to the trailer to cool them out, although both horses were excited after the run and would have preferred to gallop all the way back. When I took off the boots, there wasn't any rubbing or sore marks. I was surprised at how little debris had collected inside the boots (although we did manage to pick up a small bush in the heel captivator of one boot).
Lacey and Tia, one of the horses in training with her. Tia couldn't be haltered only three weeks ago, and would rear and strike when anyone tried to touch her face. Now look at her!On our way back, Lacey and I were talking about how much we love riding out. I'm always telling Lacey she should do endurance with me so I'd have a training buddy. She always agrees, but now I think she may have a prospect. He's a QH she trained and sold a few years back, although the buyers are moving and offered him back to Lacey. She agreed, and will be picking him up next week. She's says he's got incredible stamina, and I think will make a perfect training buddy for Jasper. Since he is a QH, we'll have to take it easy during training and rides, but it will be perfect to teach Jasper some patience. Doing a solid year of slow rides will be excellent for his longevity! We're planning to do the ride in April together, and will start him on conditioning as soon as he's home. Yay!
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I wanted to return to Hell's Gate the next day since we'd left so late and couldn't ride for as long as I wanted. Lacey couldn't go, so I talked Kristen into borrowing a saddle and horse so she could go with me. We made the trek despite accumulating snow in Pullman and correctly assumed there would be little, if any, snow in Lewiston. We had an excellent ride, and Jasper moved noticeably better in the boots. Just before getting back to the trailer, Jasper and I took a detour through a sandy pit. We'd almost come out when Jasper stopped abruptly. I thought, "What the heck?!" and looked around for a reason. Suddenly, I heard him peeing. He must have had to go really bad to have stopped so suddenly (and he peed for about a solid minute). I was SO proud of him--he's a true endurance horse now! He got lots of cookies and pats and praises and hugs!
The roads on the way back were awful, and the truck made a couple of heart-stopping slides despite us moving at a snail's pace. I've decided Hell's Gate is out if it's snowing even a little in Pullman when we leave. It took us almost 2 hours to get back, and was loaded with stress and worry.
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I've talked before about Jasper's propensity to spook when he's in the lead. It's exhausting, but he really enjoys leading and has a bigger stride than most of the horses we ride with. I've been doing research and fretting over how I can work him past it for the last couple of weeks. On a whim, I decided to try something new and it worked! When I see him start to focus on something scary along the trail (like a rock or bush), I tighten up the rein on that side and give him leg almost like I'm sidepassing him away from the scary thing. This allows him to look directly at the object but doesn't allow him to break stride. It worked every time. He's not actually side-passing (nor his he turning his neck to actually look at the object), though, but it's hard to describe. The whole thing theoretically doesn't make much sense to me, but it worked 100% of the time on both our rides. I'll take it!
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